LitQueuelitqueue

After

The humanoids

Jack Williamson1949

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel

    Diana Gabaldon2010

    A graphic novel retelling of Outlander from the perspective of Jamie Fraser and his godfather. It follows their encounter with Claire Beauchamp.

    Same tense register

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Valis

    Philip K. Dick1981

    A man experiences a beam of pink light that imparts vast information. The narrative explores his mental breakdown and search for God in California.

    tense → meditative

    pace-1·prose+3·bleak0

  • Shadow & Claw

    Gene Wolfe1983

    A torturer travels across a far-future Earth where technology is indistinguishable from magic. He recounts his exile in dense, archaic prose.

    tense → meditative

    pace-1·prose+3·bleak0

  • Radiance

    Catherynne M. Valente2015

    A documentary filmmaker disappears on Venus in an alternate 1980s solar system. The story is told through scripts, interviews, and letters.

    tense → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+3·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Stardust

    Neil Gaiman1999

    A young man crosses a magical border to retrieve a fallen star for his beloved. He discovers the star is a woman being hunted by witches.

    tense → playful

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-2

  • Ringworld

    Larry Niven1970

    Four explorers travel to a massive artificial ring around a distant star. The story focuses on the mechanics and scale of the structure.

    tense → playful

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-2

  • The Da Vinci Code

    Dan Brown2003

    A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.

    tense → propulsive

    pace+1·prose0·bleak-2

Faster

tense → propulsive

3 more ↓

  • Red Rising

    Pierce Brown2014

    A laborer on Mars discovers his caste is being lied to and undergoes surgery to infiltrate the ruling elite. He joins a brutal war games academy.

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak0

  • Recursion

    Blake Crouch2019

    A detective and a scientist discover a technology that allows people to map and enter memories, causing timelines to rewrite and collapse.

    Same tense register

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak0

  • Accelerando

    Charles Stross2005

    Three generations of a family navigate the rapid evolution of technology toward a singularity. The pace accelerates as humanity is outpaced by AI.

    tense → wry

    pace+1·prose+2·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Beelzebub's tales to his grandson

    Georges Ivanovitch Gurdjieff1950

    An extraterrestrial being explains the history and strange behaviors of humanity to his grandson during a long space voyage.

    tense → meditative

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak-1

  • Gödel, Escher, Bach

    Douglas R. Hofstadter1979

    An exploration of how cognition emerges from hidden neurological patterns. It uses math, art, and music to explain self-referential systems.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak-2

  • Ulysses

    James Joyce1914

    Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Perdido Street Station

    China Miéville2000

    A scientist in a sprawling, industrial city agrees to help a winged refugee fly again. His research accidentally unleashes a psychic predator.

    tense → bleak

    pace-1·prose+3·bleak+1

  • The Sparrow

    Mary Doria Russell1996

    A Jesuit priest joins a mission to a newly discovered planet. The story is told in flashbacks after he returns as the sole, traumatized survivor.

    tense → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Watchmen

    Alan Moore1986

    Retired masked vigilantes investigate the murder of a former teammate. The story takes place in an alternate 1985 on the brink of nuclear war.

    tense → bleak

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+1